Trending now: Citrus
Citrus is a common term of plants in the rue family, Rutaceae. Most of the cultivated citrus fruits seem to be hybrids of four core species — citron, pomelo, mandarine and papeda. Some commonly known citrus hybrids are popular fruits as well including oranges, grapefruit, lemons, limes, tangerines and yuzu.
The very distinctive taste of oranges, lemons or limes are recognized very easily and generally have a strong appeal to consumers. The popularity of citrus fruits has also been linked to the influence of Latin American-inspired flavor combinations.
Citrus fruits continue to be popular flavor profiles in a variety of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. There has been a 12% increase in citrus-flavoured beverage launches over the past two years (source: MINTEL).
The flexibility as a dessert ingredient has made citrus more and more popular for sweet foods, such as citrus-based cakes, cookies, other baked goods and dairy products. It is interesting to point out that citrus has a long history as a flavor for water-based ices fast forward to present day and it is used more frequently as an ingredient for dairy-based and frozen sweet categories including drinks, ice cream and yogurt.
Yuzu is an emerging citrus profile. Yuzu is believed to be a hybrid of mandarin and papeda. The fruit looks somewhat like a small grapefruit with an uneven skin in various shades from yellow to green. They are very aromatic and heavily scented. The flavour resembles that of grapefruit, with overtones of mandarin. It is rarely eaten as a fruit but instead used as a seasoning (zest or juice). Yuzu fruits contains lots of vitamin C and it is also believed to rejuvenate the skin. This fruit also has a fat burning effect, can help to maintain healthy blood flow and is said to aid in relaxation and recovery of muscular aches. Yuzu flavor is slowly emerging into more mainstream food and drink products outside of Asian markets.
Yuzu is definitely a flavour to watch in food and drink products. But citrus fruits are also used as a natural stabilizer.